The Division of Health Care Finance and Policy (DHCFP) held a public hearing this morning on the proposed regulatory changes affecting the Fair Share Assessment. Commissioner Sarah Iselin, Assistant Commissioners Stephen McCabe and Kate Nordahl, and General Counsel Nancy Panaro presided over the hearing. DHCFP staff began the hearing by explaining that the proposed changes require employers with 11 or more full-time or equivalent workers to provide health insurance to 25% of their employees and cover 33% of the cost of the premium. The proposal also expands the definition of employers subject to the regulation and changes the assessment period from annual to quarterly. DHCFP estimates that 90% of 11+ FTE employers will meet the regulations, which were amended to “preserve the progress of health reform.”
An ACT!! panel, which included Neil Cronin of Mass Law Reform Institute, Jessica Costantino of AARP MA, Jamie Willmuth of 1199 SEIU, Peter Rider of SEIU Local 615, and Wilnelia Rivera of Neighbor to Neighbor, testified in support of the proposed changes to the fair share assessment. The panel praised the accomplishments of health reform and commended the Administration for modestly changing the regulations to rebalance the 3-legged stool of health reform stakeholders. To read the ACT!! Coalition’s testimony, click here.
The Greater Boston Interfaith Organization followed with comments from Barbara Berke and Reverend Hurmon Hamilton. Barbara Berke urged policymakers to support employers’ investment in their human capital, just as they insure their buildings and vehicles. She asked DCHFP to consider further revisions to take into consideration the small businesses who can not meet the 25% take-up rate because workers have another source of coverage. Rev. Hamilton gave a rousing presentation focusing on the shared sacrifice that is responsible for health reform’s success. He urged the Division to approve the regulations, declaring “we can not balance health care reform on the backs of the most vulnerable.”
Nemerous business associations and employers, including the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, AT&T New England, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Partners Healthcare, the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, Package Stores Association, Association of Health Plans, and Association of Health Underwriters testified in opposition to the revised regulations. Business members criticized the proposed changes as an unfair penalization of small businesses and a counterproductive measure that ignored the contributions that employers have made to health reform. Business leaders commented that the proposed regulations distorted the original legislative intent of the Fair Share Assessment and were unnecessary because new revenue was not needed as CommCare enrollment has flattened out over the past few months. Matt Fishman, of Partners Healthcare, argued that the proposal upset the delicate balance of shared responsibility and increased the risk of a possible ERISA challenge. The business community also contended that the Administration did not take into account their contribution to health reform through funds to be transferred from the Medical Security Trust Fund. Finally, business members stated that the proposed Fair Share changes jeopardized the business community’s support of health reform.
Other testifiers included Kathy Bitetti, of the Artists’ Foundation, who raised concerns about the effect of the regulatory changes on small businesses with small profit margins, and representatives from the Coalition of Taft Hartley Plans, the Local 12 Plumbers Union, and the Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Contractors Association, who expressed concerns about the 90 day maximum waiting period.
The proposed regulatory changes will take effect on October 1, 2008, and so the Division’s final regulatons are expected within the next few weeks.
Catherine Hammons
